Serpentine National Park - Department of Environment and ...

Management for Conservation
12. FAUNA
The objectives are to:
1. Survey the Park's fauna, habitat distribution and
community structure and to use this knowledge to
facilitate management of the Park.
2. Maintain viable populations of all existing native
fauna within the Park, with an emphasis on
threatened and other priority species.
The Park has important regional values in terms of its
fauna: it has a diversity of fauna species supported by
a variety of vegetation types and associated habitats;
it forms a corridor for animals moving along or
across the Darling Range, with the east-west corridor
being particularly important for the seasonal
migration of birds; and it is an area that retains a
representative sample of the fauna species and their
habitat that has disappeared or been highly disturbed
elsewhere on the Coastal Plain and along the Scarp.
No comprehensive survey of the Park's fauna has
been undertaken. Opportunistic observations,
particularly for birds, have been carried out for a
number of years by CALM staff and Birds Australia
(formerly the Royal Australasian Ornithologists
Union). The following discussion includes these
historical data and the results of two preliminary
fauna surveys of the Park conducted by CALM
(Wardell-Johnson 1982; Lamont, personal comm.).
The Park has eight species of native mammal
(including one threatened species), and 70 species of
birds (including two threatened species), 24 species
of reptiles and three species of frogs. Feral animals
that have become established in the Park include six
mammal and two bird species (see Feral Animals
and Domestic Pets).
Mammals
Dell (1983) recorded 23 native mammal species on
the Darling Scarp, seven of which have declined not
only on the Darling Scarp but throughout the southwest.
This decline has been attributed to introduced
species, such as the fox, disease, habitat modification
and land clearing.
Eight native mammal species have been recorded in
the Park - Echidna, Mardo, Dunnart, Southern Brown
Bandicoot, Brushtail Possum, Western Brush
Wallaby, Western Grey Kangaroo and possibly the
Quokka (Wardell-Johnson 1982; Lamont pers.
comm.).
It is believed that the Chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii),
Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), Fattailed
Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata), Honey
Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) and the Water Rat
(Hydromys chrysogaster) also occur in the Park. No
surveys have been undertaken to determine the
presence or status of the nine bat species likely to
occur.
The Chuditch is a threatened species declared to be
specially protected under the Wildlife Conservation
20
Act (1950). Quokkas have not been collected in the
Park but indications of their presence were recorded
by Wardell-Johnson (1982) in gully vegetation on the
western side of the Pipehead Dam.
Birds
Of the 100 bird species known to occur on the
Darling Scarp (Dell, 1983), 70 have been recorded
within the Park (Lamont pers. comm.). Carnaby's
Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) and
Baudin's Black Cockatoo (C. baudinii) are threatened
species declared to be specially protected under the
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.
Several bird species, or groups of species, rely
heavily on particular vegetation types and habitats in
the Park. Parrots, owls and tree-martins require
hollow trees for nesting. Smaller bush birds, such as
wrens and robins, require and thrive in the dense
thickets of hakea and grevillea found around granite
outcrops. Creek and stream line vegetation also
provide important habitat for wrens and robins, as
well as the Grey Shrike-thrush and Red-eared
Firetail.
The Park also provides important habitat for
migratory and nomadic bird species. Honeyeaters
are often regarded as nomadic species, their
movements being related to honey and nectar
supplies. The Park provides essential refuge for
breeding of several such species. Most bird species
recorded in the Park are sedentary.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Of the 41 species of reptiles and 10 species of frog
recorded from the Darling Scarp (Dell, 1983), 24
reptile species and three species of frog have been
recorded in the Park. Further work would no doubt
reveal the presence of more reptile and frog species.
Granite outcrops provide specialised habitat for
reptiles. The gecko Gehyra variegata, which occurs
in the Park, is only known from granite outcrops.
Stream zones also provide specialised habitat for
several amphibian and reptile species with the Longnecked
Tortoise (Chelodina oblonga) found below
the Falls.
No threatened species have been recorded in the
Park. However, one species of snake, the Carpet
Python (Morelia spilota imbricata), which is
specially protected under the Wildlife Conservation
Act 1950, is likely to occur in the Park.
Fish
The Serpentine River maintains populations of
Freshwater Cobbler (Tandanus bostocki) and
Western Minnow (Galaxias occidentalis), with
Pygmy perch (Edelia vittata), Nightfish (Bostockia
porosa) and the migratory Pouched lamprey (Geotria
australis) found downstream of the Serpentine Falls.
While the introduced Brown Trout (Salmo trutta),
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and
Mosquito fish (Gambsusia holbrooki) have
established in the river (Coy 1979; Coy pers.
comm.), the status of other fish species is not known.